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Residents have spoken of their shock and disbelief after a man who said he cannot resist women was jailed for carrying out an armed robbery at their village shop.

Four staff at the Kirton Co-op in Station Road were threatened at knifepoint before being imprisoned in an office by the armed robber Mark Rowsell.

Rowsell, 42, was serving an indeterminate sentence at Standford Hill open prison on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent for a previous hold-up when he was allowed to stay with a girlfriend for four days over the Christmas period.

While he was out he persuaded an old friend to drive him from South London to Kirton where he held up the store by knifepoint in a terrifying raid.

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But he said he didn't commit the crime - and the court was told he'd got two women pregnant while serving his sentence.

One local businessman said: “It completely undermines letting prisoners out on day release and has risked other people’s lives. It must have been horrifying for the staff involved and I would imagine their lives will never be the same. It is shocking and unbelievable. Why would he have picked Kirton, out of all the places in the country he could pick? He must have had some connection here.

Mark Rowsell held up a Co-op at knifepoint

“They should have locked him up for life and thrown away the key. There is obviously a fault in the system as these prisoners seem to be getting up to all sorts while out on release.”

Lincoln Crown Court heard Rowsell got away with £4,000 from the till and headed straight back to London.

The following day he returned as planned to Standford Hill where he was doing time for similar robberies at two Co-op stores in Kent.

A mum-of-two who worked in the village in December 2014 when the armed robbery was carried out added: “You couldn’t make it up. This man is clearly a serial offender and has frightened the life out of people, not to mention putting other businesses on edge.

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“You just don’t know who is coming into your shop these days anyway but this has made people more wary.”

Rowsell, 42, was jailed for 12 years for the raid at the Co-op at Lincoln Crown Court.

He had denied the robbery carried out at Kirton on December 27, 2014, claiming he was drinking in a South London pub when the raid took place.

He also claimed that while serving his sentence he had twice made women pregnant with one of the women being a serving prison officer and the other the daughter of a senior prison officer.

He told the jury: "I can't resist women."

A Spokesperson for the Co-op, said: “The Co-op takes retail crime very seriously, and we work closely with Police and other crime prevention organisations in order to implement measures which deters crime and, increases the likelihood of conviction. We are pleased to see the sentencing which reflects the seriousness of the crime committed.”

Rowsell said he had also used his time on previous home visits from prison to manufacture the synthetic cannabis substance Mamba which he sold on to what was then a 'legal highs' shop in Boston.

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He was jailed for 12 years and given a four year licence extension. The terms of the sentence mean he will have to serve at least eight years before he can be considered for release and he will remain on licence at risk of being returned to jail until October 2033.

During the trial it was revealed that Rowsell was a serial criminal who had spent much of his adult life in prison. He had 25 previous convictions for 46 offences. These offences included armed robberies at other Co-op stores around the country.

Jonathan Dunn, prosecuting, told the jury at Lincoln Crown Court that Rowsell was driven to Lincolnshire by his friend Warren Smith but went into the Co-op store alone.